Product Details

• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click here.
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 13, 2009
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001JIL93O
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #97,516 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Brick Lane" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

BRICK LANE - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant tale of a woman's journey of self-discovery, January 22, 2009

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brick Lane (DVD)

"Brick Lane" is based on Monica Ali's controversial novel of the same title, and tells the story of a Bangladeshi Muslim woman, Nazneen [Tannishta Chatterjee] who was married off at 17 by her father to a much older man living in London. Nazneen leaves behind her beloved sister, and there is also the haunting specter of her mother's suicide when she was a young girl. Nazneen's sister keeps up an active correspondence with her, indicating a life of adventure and excitement, in stark contrast to Nazneen's own repressed life - one of monotony and drudgery, of a loveless union with a self-absorbed man, and of caring for her two daughters. Nazneen's way of coping with her humdrum life is to quote her deceased mother: "Life is to be endured."

Things change when a new neighbor moves in next door - an independent Bangladeshi woman who takes in sewing to make ends meet and Nazneen soon finds herself doing the same [her loser of a husband quits his job and takes his time finding another one, deeming most jobs as beneath him]. It is this new-found 'independence' that puts Nazneen in the path of Karim [Christopher Simpson] a fiery-tempered, handsome young man who brings to life feelings Nazneen has long suppressed. The pair are mutually attracted and soon find themselves meeting in secret, stealing kisses, and finally indulging in an affair. But Karim doesn't merely spark lust in Nazneen, he is also the catalyst that arouses her awareness of racial and religious identity and when 9/11 occurs, Nazneen finds herself being swept up in a series of events that challenge her traditional beliefs and give her the strength to make the right choices - for herself and her children.

The lead actress did an amazing job as the lonely and unfulfilled Nazneen. Through her credible portrayal of a repressed woman stuck in a traditional, loveless marriage, we get a clear picture of the life led by some immigrant women. However, there is also something altogether predictable in the plot and the ending, when it comes, hardly holds many surprises.

On the whole, I'd recommend this movie to those seeking out human dramas, especially those that focus on women's emancipation and self-discovery.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Best for Homesick Cockneys Abroad, October 15, 2008

By 

Stephanie DePue (Carolina Beach, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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"Brick Lane," an English film released in 2007, is based on the popular, award-winning novel of the same name by Monica Ali, Brick Lane: A Novel. It deals with the lives of Bangladeshis in modern-day London's gritty East End: and was filmed in Shoreditch, London. It was directed by Sarah Gavron, and stars some very good, presumably Indian actors, with whom, I expect, most of us are not familiar.

We meet Nazneem as a child, in her beautiful Bangladeshi homeland: an arranged marriage forces her to leave home, and her beloved sister, and sends her to 1980's London. Tanishtha Chatterjee does very strong work as Nazneem Ahmed, married to Chanu Ahmed, played by Satish Kaushik: he too does very strong work. We initially assume Chanu is a chubby fool. He's inordinately proud of his education, when he doesn't seem to have much, and is a minor tyrant around the home. To which poor homesick, lonely Nazneem, in constant correspondence with her sister, is largely confined, caring for her husband and two daughters. But after 15-some odd years of this, more money is needed to finance a trip home: Nazneem gets an old sewing machine to do piecework. Karim, (Christopher Simpson), the handsome, sexy young man who brings the work to her, eventually gets her out into the world. And we do get an eyeful of Shoreditch, a colorful, crowded, hard-edged neighborhood that has served for centuries as home to the poor, and/or recent immigrants. Then along comes our 9/11, to arouse anti-Moslem feelings in England, as in the States, and the world changes around them. Most of us will find we are forced to amend our opinions of Chanu by this changed world.

Photography, both in the U.K. and the Indian subcontinent, is excellent. The sentimentality of the picture, particularly in its sudden happy ending, may be a problem for some viewers. A much bigger problem to me, who saw the film in its theatrical release, was the lack of subtitles. Nazneem's character narrates, in addition to having the lion's share of dialogue. She has a strong Indian subcontinent accent, and speaks softly, too: I found it very very difficult to understand her. None of the other characters were much better. And, of course, the odd English character we met had the Cockney accent. I'm afraid, what with one thing and another, I really can recommend this movie only to homesick natives of the Indian subcontinent---or of the East End, London's scattered Cockneys, who, hopefully, will have some experience with that accent. Although I now understand the DVD offers closed captions; this should make watching this movie a much less frustrating experience for anyone interested in this slice of immigrant life in London.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful and moving film about self-discovery, carrying on or moving away from cultural traditions and more!, December 30, 2008

By 

Dennis A. Amith (kndy) (California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Brick Lane (DVD)

A moving film that will touch your heart.

"BRICK LANE" is a film based on the best selling novel by Monica Ali about arrange marriages, moving away from one's country and living a new life in another country and for many, living a life based on survival and marriage where there might not be strong love but also a film about finding one's self.

The term "Brick Lane" is actually a long street in East end of London and where many Bangladesh community reside.

The story centers around a Bangladeshi woman named Nazneen. Nazneen and her sister are very close but due to a tragedy of her mother committing suicide, life has changed in her family and Nazneen, at a young age, is quickly arranged to get married with a man 25 years older than her.

Fast forward twenty years later in London and Nazneen now with two daughters and her husband (Satish Kaushik) live in an apartment in Brick Lane and her husband who is unemployed is always gone during the day and tries to find ways to make money for the family.

Nazneen appears to live her life with no soul. Her husband doesn't treat her with love or an equal, just a wife who does what he says and raises the family. But for Nazneen, the only thing that really keeps her going in life is her two daughters and the letters that she had received from her sister a long time ago.

Her sister appears to have a good life and didn't get in an arranged marriage and did her own thing. And for Nazneen, each time she writes to her, there is not much to write. She stays home, takes care of the kids and rarely ventures out on her own but only during the day. She has lived a sheltered life and a woman that has no zest in her life, her soul is quietly dying.

But things change for her when she meets her new neighbor who has a sewing machine. Nazneen figures she can raise some money for the family but when a young man named Karim comes to her apartment to have blue jeans mended, the two start to develop an attraction that leads to Nazneen having an affair, which literally changes both of them.

Nazneen seems to be happy, her soul renewed but how long can she keep her secret from her husband and when 9/11 changes the world, it also changes life in London, especially for the Muslims. Nazneen's life and the people close to her will never be the same again.

Suffice to say, as one would see this film as a positive step for women who come from cultures which they are not treated as equals or lack their independence, the film and also the novel is also very controversial among the Bangladesh people who even campaigned and protested the filming of "BRICK LANE" in their community because they felt that the film was demeaning towards the Bangladesh people.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

The DVD is presented in 2:35:1 anamorphic widescreen and cinematography had an earthy feel with yellow, brown and redish lights utilized at times. Very beautiful cinematography. The majority of the footage is inside Nazneems apartment but near the final quarter of the film do we see more of London.

As for audio, the film is featured in English 5.1 (Dolby Digital) and the majority of the film is dialogue. But when the theme song that plays in the beginning and the end come on, it really comes out in the speakers. A very beautiful theme song!

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The DVD has a few special features:

* Commentary with Director Sarah Gavron and Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee - The special feature was quite interesting to listen to. Sarah Gavron was very good in discussing the challenges of filmmaking and what they had to accomplish in their short time filming. She and Tannishtha discuss the protests as well and most of all, how winter scenes had to be filmed in 90 degree, hot and humid weather. Overall, really good commentary from both women and a really in-depth commentary for film students who want to learn from Gavron who actually graduated from film school, did a short film and was discovered which led to "BRICK LANE" being her first feature film. Also, Gavron worrying how Monica Ali would think about the film and also as a foreigner looking outside into the culture of the Bangladeshi and also how like Ang Lee was a foreigner but create exceptional films in another country, it was an inspiration for her for a film like this. Very good commentary and featured with English subtitles.
* Exploring Brick Lane - This segment features the behind-the-scenes making of. This includes interviews with the director, producers and cast.
* Interview with Sarah Gavron - Gavron talks about her past and also filming "BRICK LANE"
* Interview with Tannishtha Chatterjee and Christopher Simpson - Both talk about how they were cast, their chemistry of working together and more.
* Interview with Satish Kaushik - Satish talks about his role and how he was selected for the film.
* Scene Specific Commentaries - Commentaries on certain scenes from the film
* Deleted Scenes - A lower res feature of certain scenes in the film that were cut and actually agree with removal of that footage.

Overall, I enjoyed "BRICK LANE" but at the same time, I can understand why Bangladeshi people dislike the film. In modern times, many countries especially in America, are used to seeing women in power and when we here about marriage, we tend to hear about people falling in love and rarely are people accustomed to arranged marriages.

In the commentary, both Gavron and Chatterjee had opportunities to learn from women who are in similar situations as Nazneem and I would imagine that there would be some who just live their lives for the family like Nazneem. And in today's world, I can understand why people not familiar with arranged marriages from other cultures may disagree with it.

But in South Asia and also other parts of Asia, arranged marriages still happen. It's part of the culture. Even within my family, my grandparents had told me stories about having to go back to their home country and find a good wife there and I was not going to stand for an arranged marriage.

How I viewed "BRICK LANE" was almost something similar to my upbringing in the fact that there is traditional culture where rules apply and there are those who live in a country where those traditional and cultural rules are not necessarily all gone but it's not the same. Nazneem is a woman who knows Bangladeshi customs but at the same time, her soul is like a candle with its light slowly getting smaller. The only thing that keeps her going is the fact that she wants to be their for her children unlike her mother who gave them a chance at life but at the cost of her's.

But she's not happy with her husband, she's doesn't seem attracted to him at all. But for the sake of family, she does her best. And then of course, life changes for her when she meets Kalim. Kalim is a young man who is becoming a man and wants to marry Nazneem and both change each others lives.

How one's upbringing (especially in their culture) can lead them to see this movie as quite destructive or some may see it as moving and beautiful, the film and its novel will continue to have its critics and its supporters.

In the end, "BRICK LANE" is about a woman finding her way and becoming independent. A husband who wants the best for his family but unable to make things happen in London and wants to be back in Bangladesh and a young man, coming of age and because of the treatment towards Muslims after 9/11, leads him to activism.

All three performers, Chatterjee, Koushik and Simpson did an exceptional job for their roles on this film. Balanced with beautiful cinematography and an enchanting theme song, overall, I found "BRICK LANE" to be a quite moving. Definitely worth checking out!